10 Random Facts You Didn't Know About Elvis Presley

Elvis Presley fans are probably the greatest fans in the world. Today marks the 34th anniversary of The King’s passing and thousands of fans traveled to Graceland to celebrate.

Last night an estimated 15,000 to 20,000 devotees trekked to Graceland in Memphis, Tennessee and gathered at Presley’s home with candles, flowers and other items to leave at Elvis’s gravesite.

Some fans even arrived in sideburns and pompadours in honor of the late singer.

This candlelight vigil is the main attraction during “Elvis Week” which is held this time every year since he died on August 16, 1977.

Most people know something about Elvis Presley (he wore a pompadour, he sang a song about a “Hound dog,” and he did that cool dance with his wobbly knees) but here are 10 of the weirdest things you didn’t know about The King of Rock N’ Roll.

1) His entourage was referred to as the Memphis Mafia. All members wore diamond and gold rings with the letters TCB imprinted which stood for “Take Care of Business.” Daaaannnnngggg. He wasn’t joking about “Jailhouse Rock.”

2) He made 31 movies in his lifetime. Imagine 31 precursors to the Justin Bieber 3D film.

3) Elvis was blonde for most of his life. He started dying it black to appear edgier.

4) Sometimes in the early 1960’s Elvis adopted a chimpanzee named Scatter. Apparently Scatter liked to look up women’s skirts. Pervy monkey.

5) Despite his huge worldly following, Elvis only performed 5 shows outside the US and all of them were in Canada. The only time he stepped foot on British soil was during a layover.

6) Elvis was a direct descendant of Abraham Lincoln’s great-great grandfather and Elvis was a distant cousin of Jimmy Carter. How about that for a family tree?

7) When he was 11 he purchased his first guitar, he wanted a rifle but his mom persuaded him to buy a guitar instead.

8) Elvis’s manager was a small-time crook. Before Colonel Tom was managing Elvis, he would paint sparrows yellow and sell them as canaries.

9) Occasionally when performing, Elvis would change the lyrics to his songs and he changed the lyrics of “Are You Lonesome Tonight” from “Do you gaze at your doorstep and picture me there? To “Do you gaze at your bald head and wish you had hair?”

10) Actor Nicolas Cage, who was briefly married to Elvis’s daughter Lisa Marie Presley, was the only person aside from Presley’s immediate family to see the inside of Elvis’s Graceland bedroom.